Previous Page  12 / 24 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 12 / 24 Next Page
Page Background

12

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

AT THE PRINCESS

MARGARET

The immunotherapy treatments being studied and administered at The Princess Margaret are available to specific patients with

cancers for which these treatments are applicable. Many ongoing clinical trials are occurring at the Cancer Centre. Patients interested

in participating in such trials should consult their oncologist to determine if this is a suitable course of action for them.

Background imagery courtesy of Thermo Fisher Scientific. The original picture was captured by Dr. Rita Serda

ABOUT CLINICAL TRIALS:

Boosting the

Arsenal

In

adoptive T-cell therapy

,

samples of T-cells are taken out

of a patient. A lab process is

used to boost the number and

effectiveness of these cells, so

they can be put back into the

patient to attack a tumor.

MORE ON PAGE 13

T-cells on

Alert

The goal of

cancer

vaccines

is to

alert T-cells to the

presence of cancer

and to initiate a

strong T-cell response

against the tumor.

MORE ON PAGE 14

What is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy is rapidly gaining recognition

for its potential to change the way we treat cancer

and to join chemotherapy, radiation and surgery

as a fourth pillar of cancer treatment.

Within the international scientific community,

it has been long understood that the immune

system has the ability to conquer cancer.

Three types of treatments being studied, developed and tested at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre:

IMMUNoTHERAPY STRATEGIES

We’re now at a point where this knowledge has

started to become translated into treatment

possibilities for cancer patients.

We have already seen numerous success

stories of cancers fought and lives extended

through immunotherapy.

Revolutionizing

Cancer Therapy

Unleashing the

Immune System

The immune system has ways of

controlling its response to threats to the

body. Most of the time, it holds back

its response at various checkpoints. In

immune checkpoint blockade

, drugs

are used to get the immune system

to release the brakes and allow an

immune response.

MORE ON PAGE 13

Play Video